Mastering Fear: Trading “The Known” for the “Unknown”

There comes a point in our journey to fully excavate ego, where we must be willing to be taken to the ultimate edge of our psychological fear(s), teeter there as our inner thoughts scream to retreat back into the safety of the known, and somehow gather the courage to fully face these fears, such that they dissolve into the light of truth.

Being able to do this is mastering fear…the primary goal of our inner journey.

It challenges our reliance on our greatest psychological comforts…all the things we’re falsely relying on to know ourselves. I say “falsely relying on” because they are the very things that hold our ego in place, and thus, block us from knowing ourselves beyond ego.

This is extremely scary, however, it’s absolutely necessary to face if we’re ever to know ourselves beyond the confines of our ego.

In the beginning, it’s (relatively) easy to let go of aspects of ourselves that we’ve discovered as being “our ego”, because we’re only dealing with the initial layers of ego, but the more layers to the onion that we peel back, the harder it is to let go.

It begs the fear-inducing question: “If we’re not what we’re being asked to let go of, what are we?”.

This is the point at which the “known” (aka our ego, which is full of conflict + suffering) feels safer than the “unknown” (that which brings us to actually knowing the peace that passes all understanding).

When the peace that passes all understanding only lives in us as an idea (because we don’t know it first-hand), the degree to which we believe this state is available for us to know serves as the barometer for how well we can manage being brought to the edge of our fear(s)…the threshold that must be passed in order to know the peace that passes all understanding.

As soon as we lose sight of why we’re facing our fear, we lose the necessary courage to face it. The psychological comfort and safety of the known immediately overrides our ability to venture into the unknown, causing us to retreat back into the safety of our ego.

It’s as if we’ve been born into a prison cell, where the cell is all we know. Even though the cell is tiny and limiting, it feels safe to us. Yet there’s an entire world outside of our little cell that promises so much more…

To come to know the peace that passes all understanding, we’re being asked to let go of the measly comforts of our tiny cell…the Kingdom is within us; we just keep locking ourselves out for fear of trading “the known” for “the unknown”.

In theory, it’s easy to see (and agree to) this, however, this decision is challenged every time the comforts of our security are threatened, which is why our initial goal is to master asking ourselves if we’re willing to give up our little cell for the radiant beauty of what lies beyond it every time we feel the inclination to retreat back into it.

I’ve come to learn that this is not a single decision that we declare, but rather, it’s one that we must affirm and come back to over and over until we master our position on the decision to know the unknown (or the peace that passes all understanding).

It’s a decision that we must come back to every time we become aware of fear rising up in us, especially when we’re teetering on the edge of our fears. This constant and consistent coming back to our decision to know truth, love, God and the peace that passes all understanding is what will aid us in our ultimate mastery of fear.

It’s what will allow us to teeter on the edge and open up to embracing (and transforming) the exact fear that is causing us to feel as if we’re on a ledge, such that it dissolves from our awareness (there is no ledge in reality…it’s all a projection of ego so once we embrace it, all the feelings and perceptions created through our fear disappear).

But first we must master drawing upon courage anytime fear arises so that we build up the necessary strength and courage to do the above…

I suggest writing a personal affirmation that you can commit to coming back to in moments where fear attempts to take over such as: I choose to know myself beyond fear. I choose to know (and be) peace, love and light. I choose to know the peace that passes all understanding. Pray for the most meaningful words to use in your personal affirmation.

Another suggestion is to carry something with you at all times that both reminds you of your decision to go beyond fear and gives you strength and courage to align with your decision. It could be a picture of a divine being that has the highest significance to you, a stone that carries a certain meaning, jewelry with spiritual significance, etc. Again, pray to align with the perfect sacred emblem for you.

The goal is to remember to reach for courage (however it can be best drawn upon) as soon as you feel an ego-based or fearful thought arise. Practice fine tuning your awareness so that you can catch these thoughts earlier and earlier. This will prevent fear from being able to pick up more momentum.

This takes time (hence, the process of mastery). It takes time in the beginning when you’re first discovering how ego works and later when you’re being brought to edge of your psychological fears.

The goal of staying centered in your decision to master fear remains the same, regardless of where you are in your journey, and mastering this goal requires a constant reliance on courage.

So if you build strong habits in these two key areas (your decision to master fear + your constant reliance on courage), there’s nothing that you won’t be able to ultimately handle in your journey to know truth, love, God and the peace that passes all understanding.

To knowing the Kingdom the lives within,

Shanna